


Starflower Tea

by dieFabuliererin



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:47:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27967052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dieFabuliererin/pseuds/dieFabuliererin
Summary: As a Senator in an intergalactic war, Padmé learnt to expect the unexpected. The scenarios she found herself in managed to occasionally surprise her, but the most unpredictable thing in her life was the Jedi Knight who she was madly in love with. Seriously, who knew Anakin Skywalker could make tea?
Relationships: Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 2
Kudos: 65





	Starflower Tea

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! This was my submission for PseudonymGal’s ‘Something Warm To Drink’ contest in the Girls Who Write forum on FFN. Make sure you check out the other contestants’ works for some beautiful Obitine and heart-warming Foxiyo content!

All things considered, Padmé was lucky to be alive.

A politician's life was not supposed to be dangerous, but they were in an intergalactic war, and sometimes, her life couldn't be as prim and proper as she hoped it would be as a child.

After her little adventure on Geonosis before the war started, Padmé always carried a blaster, and she'd learnt to expect the unexpected.

She didn't expect a diplomatic mission with Jar Jar and Bail to turn into a crash landing on a hostile planet where the natives were prepared to kill the three politicians without mercy.

It wasn't the _best_ situation for them to be in.

Thankfully, an honourable Jedi Knight was only a few sectors away when they sent out their distress signal and came rushing to their aid.

Always playing the hero, her husband.

How Anakin was going to justify leaving a space battle in the hands of his young Padawan to rescue two Senators and a Gungan Representative was beyond Padmé, but she had to be grateful.

Bail was her friend, but their relationship was more professional than personal, and Jar Jar was... well, _Jar Jar_ , so it was a relief to have Anakin with them. He could make _any_ dire situation better, including this one.

"This is a fine mess you've got yourself into, Senator Amidala," Anakin said, eyeing the remains of their ship with an expression of both amusement and concern. "It's a miracle none of you were injured."

She hummed in agreement, forcing a tight smile whilst they acted as close acquaintances in front of the others, "We were very lucky, Master Jedi."

Except they weren't. Jar Jar had motion sickness from the way their ship spiralled to the surface, and Padmé wasn't exactly dandy either.

It hurt to think, courtesy of knocking her head on the control panel on the way down, but she tried to hide it. Anakin was already flustered; it wouldn't help if he knew she could very well be suffering from a concussion.

They had bigger problems at the moment. Their ship was broken beyond _even Anakin's_ repair, and he had only brought a Jedi starfighter to their aid, so they were stranded until Ahsoka could send down a transport.

It didn't help that they had lost contact with Ahsoka several hours ago, and whilst Anakin brushed it off as just a sketchy signal, Padmé could see the concern on her husband's face for his student. He was still new to teaching, but he already took his responsibility for Ahsoka seriously.

Until help arrived, they just had to wait, and that wouldn't have been a problem if the locals were friendly and the climate was more like Naboo with soft breezes and periods of humidity, instead of the icy rain and fog which they were trekking in.

Anakin said that if they kept moving, they were less likely to be picked off by the natives. Padmé had nodded and hitched her skirt up to her knees, dutifully following him into the dense jungle. Who was she to question a Jedi General who spent every day trying to avoid death?

"How will Ahsoka know where we are?" She asked loudly over the heavy patter of rainfall. The water had long seeped through her clothes and was now chilling her bones.

Anakin had offered his cloak- which was marginally waterproof- but Padmé denied in order to not raise suspicious amongst their companions. It was only Jar Jar and Bail, but there was enough stress on Anakin's mind without risking the exploitation of their secret marriage.

"She'll find us." Anakin muttered, his eyes glued to the jungle ahead of them.

Padmé pressed her lips together. She didn't doubt Ahsoka's abilities, but how would she be able to find them amongst the dense bush and high trees?

"I have a bond with her," Anakin said, listening in on her thoughts. She _hated_ it when he did that. "And the transports have bioscanners." He slowed his strides so they could walk alongside each other as he lowered his voice, "It'll be fine, Padmé."

"I know." She smiled up at him, squinting as the rain hit her eyes. Anakin's face was nearly invisible under the hood of his cloak, but she knew he was wearing a tender expression.

They kept walking; the minutes stretching into hours. Padmé felt like her pace was quick, but judging but Anakin's sluggish movements, this was slow for him. His head was constantly turning in different directions, paying attention to every sound and movement around them.

Padmé was fearlessly independent, but she had to admit that she felt safer with Anakin than she did alone. It felt stupid to feel safe whilst she was soaked and trekking across hostile territory, but it was the truth. Anakin had a presence about him that felt like someone was wrapping a warm blanket around her shoulders.

"Padmé, my feet issa hurting!" Jar Jar whined from behind them.

Padmé sighed- that was the fifth time he had complained in the last thirty minutes. Anakin brushed her arm with the back of his hand, calling over his shoulder, "You can rest on the cruiser, Jar Jar!"

She smiled at her husband appreciatively. He shrugged back at her, "I owe you one for locking you in that bunker with him on Naboo."

Padmé giggled, covering her mouth. It was nice to finally look back on that horrible experience and laugh about it. For weeks after her exposure to the Blue Shadow Virus, she couldn't laugh without coughing. She had never seen Anakin so worried.

Anakin suddenly froze, and a shout of pain behind them made Padmé's heart leap in her throat. Her husband was already at Bail's side before she could turn around, helping lower the Senator to the ground as he clutched his knee.

"Bail," Padmé knelt beside her friend, concern etched into her features, "What's wrong?"

"My knee." The man winced, hanging onto Anakin's shoulder.

"Wassa wrong with your knee?" Jar Jar asked.

"Did you feel it pop?" Anakin started to roll Bail's robe up on his injured leg. Bail nodded, the tendons in his neck stretched. Under the rain, Padmé heard Anakin mutter, "As if things couldn't get any worse."

"Stay here, Jar Jar," she called as the Gungan turned to walk away.

"I wassa goin’ to get help!"

She sighed, frustrated, "There's no help out there. We're waiting for Ahsoka to pick us up."

"But Ahsoka coulda take hours!"

“I know.” She looked back at Anakin who was examining Bail's knee, "We just have to be patient."

"Dislocated." Anakin said, even though Padmé could see the deformed joint, "I can re-locate it, but I don't have strong pain meds, and he shouldn't be walking on it." He sighed, "Maybe I could carry-"

"Can we stop for a few hours?" Padmé suggested before Anakin signed himself up to something ridiculous. Bail was a large man, and as much as Anakin prided himself on his strength, she didn't want his back to be completely useless by the time he reached old age.

Anakin glanced up at her, "It's not ideal."

"It's getting late," she said, hoping he would understand that none of them were his soldiers who could march through tough conditions for however long they needed to, "a few hours of rest won't hurt."

He sighed again, dropping his head, "Alright, we'll hang tight for a bit."

"Look! There issa shelter over there!" Jar Jar shouted, pointing at what appeared to be a cliff wall.

In the dimming light, Padmé could see the shadow of caverns. She smiled, relieved, "Good spot, Jar Jar."

"Ready, Bail?" Anakin grunted, hauling the man upright. Padmé moved to her fellow Senator's other side, letting him put an arm over her shoulders. "Let's go."

Sitting in the cave was comfier than Padmé imagined it would be. Sure, there was water dripping on their heads, and the distant flap of bat-like creatures in the darker caverns, but it was certainly better than hiking through the storm outside.

Once they arrived, Anakin was immediately in his element, lighting a small fire and getting Bail comfortable. The process of re-locating his knee was so quick that Padmé didn't even notice Bail's grunt of pain. Now, the injured Senator was asleep, and so was Jar Jar, which was nice because Padmé could _finally_ spend some alone time with her husband.

"Here," Anakin laid out his cloak along the dirt floor, "You should get some rest."

"I'm not tired," she lied, but she sat down anyway. Her feet were terribly sore, and her head pounded more than she wanted to admit. "What do we do now?"

"We wait." Anakin sat beside her, sighing as he leaned against the rock wall, "Ahsoka shouldn't be too much longer. Do you want something to drink?"

"You have water?" She asked, only just realizing that she hadn't drunk anything in a few hours. She was parched.

"Rainwater." He explained, pointing outside, "Stay here; I'll be back."

Then, he stood up and disappeared into the storm. Padmé watched his retreating figure, wondering if she could go with him, or give him the cloak she was sat on, but Anakin had already vanished into trees.

She slipped off her outer skirts, putting them near the fire to dry off. A dry laugh bubbled out of her throat as she considered the expensive fabrics catching fire. It wouldn't be a big loss- they needed to stay warm more than she needed to own three of the same prairie skirts.

"It's raining tusk cats and tookas out there."

She jumped at Anakin's voice, looking up to see him shaking the water out of his hair, holding what looked like a ration tin in his hand. It was a collapsible one that was usually stored on his belt, "You were quick."

"I don't enjoy strolling in the rain, frankly." He grinned, kneeling beside the fire with the tin bowl.

"What did you find?" She asked, crawling over to sit opposite him.

He showed her the contents, "Water from a river, some flowers I found. Did you know they have a native starflower on this planet? How wicked is that? If only Bail were awake, I'm sure he would love to try some."

Padmé frowned. The water and array of colourful flowers floating on the surface looked visually appealing, but Anakin was far from an expert in flora, and the last thing they needed was to get poisoned.

"Anakin," Padmé sighed whilst the look of pride of her husband's face faltered, "Should we be eating that?"

"Don't worry," he moved a hand, letting the tin float above the fire without touching it, "All the bacteria from the water will get burned off, and Obi-Wan's made this tea for me more times than I can count. I knew what I was looking for."

"It's tea?" She asked, sceptical.

"That's all tea _is_ , right? Leaves and hot water." He said it so smugly, Padmé had to laugh.

"I've never seen anybody make tea like that, Anakin."

He waved a hand dismissively, "It'll be ready soon."

She looked back at the dish as more bubbles sprung to the surface, the steam wafting into the air above their heads.

"You're so beautiful," Anakin whispered, breaking the peaceful silence.

She blushed scarlet, turning away, "I look a mess."

"A beautiful mess." Anakin's voice was like velvet- it was going to make her melt, "I'm sorry you crash landed."

"It's alright," she gazed back at him, adoring the way his blue eyes sparkled from the flickering flames. "Thank you for coming to help us."

"Anything for you, Padmé." There was much love in his eyes, she couldn't look away. "Tea's done."

He put his glove on his cybernetic hand to pick up the tin from thin air. They settled back against the wall, Padmé leaning against his chest whilst he rubbed her shoulder. She felt happier than she had felt in a long time, even though she was soaked to her underclothes and there was no sign of their rescue party.

Anakin ran his fingers through her hair as they waited for the tea to cool, "Assuming Ahsoka won that space-battle, it'll only take us two rotations to get back to Coruscant."

She nodded, closing her eyes, "Will your medics treat Bail?"

Anakin chuckled, the sound vibrating through his chest, "I think the more important question is will _Senator Organa_ let the medics treat him?"

She opened one eye, spying on her sleeping friend. Bail was a gentle man who seemed to respect the clones, but she wondered if he would be willing to spend a night or two in their medbay. She'd been treated by Sergeant Coric for a small blaster wound before, and whilst the clone medics were more efficient than any Doctor she'd met, they had a sense of humour that she couldn't make sense of.

"Here," Anakin offered her the tin, "Put on my spare glove, so you don't burn yourself, but it's cool enough to drink."

She did as he instructed, pulling on his spare glove. It was warm inside, and far too big, but it did its job. When she took the tin from his hand, she couldn't feel the scorching heat.

"Try it," Anakin encouraged, smiling down at her.

Cautiously, Padmé raised the tin to her lips. The smell was slightly strange, as was the sensation of the flowers brushing her lips whilst she took her first sip.

She held the floral-tasting liquid in her mouth before swallowing, enjoying the way it warmed her up as it went down her throat. The taste wasn't overly potent, but it was pleasant. Like smelling a fresh meadow on Naboo, except thunder was rattling around them and the only warmth was the small fire, Anakin's body, and the tea.

"It's nice," she took another small sip before passing it back to him, "That would cost a lot of credits if it were on the market."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Anakin gulped a mouthful down, hissing from the tea's heat. "Master Obi-Wan always says that if you can make tea, then things aren't all that bad."

"I guess he's right," Padmé beamed at her husband- it wasn't often that he referred to his former teacher a 'Master Obi-Wan'. Usually, he just said the man's name.

They passed the tea between them, using small talk to fill in the gaps of silence. Padmé had to admit that the more of the drink she had, the more she liked it. As Queen, she was gifted teas from all over the galaxy, each one having their own unique flavour and aroma based on where the leaves where grown, but none tasted like the one Anakin made.

"How did you learn to re-locate knees?" She asked after she finished the last sip, leaving only the limp flowers in the bowl. Maybe she would keep them- as a memory. She could press them and display them in a frame- on her office desk. That would be nice.

Anakin shrugged, "Ahsoka's hypermobile. Her shoulder pops out at least once a month, and she refuses to go to the medics."

"Oh." Padmé frowned; Ahsoka was too young to be going through that pain every month. "Maybe you should take her to the Healers; she might have a joint problem."

He scoffed, "She's used to it by now. Besides, if the Healers operate, she'll be off the field for months."

Padmé didn't think that was a bad thing.

She sighed, leaning against Anakin, and savouring the aftertaste of the tea in her mouth. She was exhausted. "I'm just going to rest my eyes for a minute, love."

"Sleep, Padmé," Anakin encouraged, intertwining his flesh hand with hers. His soft lips pressed against her temple, "I'll keep watch."

She let the darkness take over, taking the pain away from her feet as she drifted away. Having Anakin rub his thumb over her knuckles helped- she felt like she was in their Coruscanti apartment, not in some dark cave waiting to be rescued by her husband's Padawan.

To her surprise, the next thing she heard was Ahsoka's voice, "Well, well, what do we have here?"

Padmé jumped, feeling Anakin jolt behind her as they were woken up. He must've been so tired that he fell asleep too. Daylight was streaming into the cave and stood next to the embers of their fire was Anakin's young Padawan, a smirk on her face as she watched the Jedi Knight and Senator untangle themselves from each other.

"Snips," Anakin said, his voice raspy, "How long ago did you get here?"

"Five minutes, give or take." The Togruta replied, still grinning, "You two looked _so_ comfortable, I didn't want to wake you."

Anakin rolled his eyes, standing up and pulling Padmé to her feet. She blushed wildly, embarrassed they had been caught in a moment of intimacy by a teenager.

"The medics are taking Senator Organa up on a stretcher." Ahsoka announced, and only then Padmé realized that the cave was empty besides the two Jedi and herself, "Jar Jar went ship-side with Rex already- to the Captain's _delight_."

"Poor man," Anakin muttered, stamping out the remains of their fire.

Padmé was yet to say anything, caught in the shock of it all. A part of her was annoyed that Ahsoka had come so soon- she was enjoying the time alone with her husband. She liked the young Togruta, but when she was around, Anakin went into 'military mode'.

His passion for taking his role as General seriously was attractive, but she loved him when their jobs didn't seem to exist- when they were just husband and wife instead of Jedi and Senator.

Maybe they needed a vacation.

"Are you alright, Senator?" She looked up at Ahsoka's question, noticing the concern etched into her facial markings.

"I'm fine, Ahsoka," She gave her a gracious smile, "Thank you for coming to get us."

"It's no bother," Ahsoka's smile faltered slightly as she half-turned to Anakin, "We lost Eighty-seven in that skirmish up there. Besides him, no casualties."

"Good work," Anakin laid a hand on his Apprentice's shoulder, even though Padmé could hear he was lacking his usual timbre. Losing men always hit him hard.

"What's that?" The Senator and Knight followed Ahsoka's gaze to the tin on the ground.

"Tea," Anakin replied, flashing a smile towards Padmé as he pulled the tin to his hand with the Force. She knew if his former Master were here, Anakin would be scolded for using his abilities inappropriately.

Ahsoka's lips twisted, "That vile stuff Master Obi-Wan makes? You gave the Senator _that_?"

Anakin rolled his eyes, "It made you sick _one time_ , Snips; stop being dramatic."

"Whatever," she replied, walking out of the cave, "Are you two lovebirds ready to get going?"

Padmé froze, her eyes widening as she looked at Anakin. "She's joking," he murmured lowly before raising his voice, "We're coming- cut the attitude!"

She swallowed, nodding even though she knew the Togruta was more perceptive than Anakin let on. She bent at the waist, picking up the remains of the flowers. Anakin frowned, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to take them home," She said, keeping her voice down. Togrutas had good hearing, and Ahsoka didn't need to see much more to get an idea of what was occurring between the Senator and her Master.

"As a memento?" He grinned.

She straightened, tucking the flowers away in her fist, unable to resist smiling back at him, "Maybe." She walked up to him, "We shouldn't keep your Padawan waiting."

Padmé shot Anakin a look when he linked their arms, but he just smirked down at her, walking them out of the cave, "The Senator's a little unsteady on her feet, Snips; I'll assist her to the pick-up point."

"Of course, Master," Ahsoka muttered in front of them, her tone unconvinced. Padmé could only giggle behind her hand as she intertwined her fingers with Anakin's, the starflowers held between their palms.


End file.
